Hear it is: Enhancing rapid document browsing with sound cues

Abstract

Document navigation has become increasingly commonplace as the use of electronic documents has grown. Speed-Dependent Automatic Zooming (SDAZ) is one popular method for providing rapid movement within a digital text. However, there is evidence that details of the document are overlooked as the pace of navigation rises. We produced a document reader software where sound is used to complement the visual cues that a user searches for visually. This software was then evaluated in a user study that provides strong supportive evidence that non-visual cues can improve user performance in visual seeking tasks.